Caregiver Community: Focus on the Foundations

“I wish I’d known earlier in my career that if a child is not sleeping well at night, eating a nutrient-poor diet, not getting fresh air and sunshine, not getting enough physical activity, living or schooling in a chronically high-stress environment, then no amount of psychotherapy, behavioral therapy, educational interventions, or other therapies will provide significant benefit.” 

Basically, get back to basics. Dr. Beurkens reminds us that it’s important to cover the foundational basics of childhood health. Sleep, diet, and physical exercise are the “foundational drivers of brain development, behavior, and mental wellness.” As caregivers, these are the basic childcare factors that always need to be top of mind.

Dr. Beurkens also mentions, “we simply can’t out-therapize poor diet, lack of movement, poor sleep, chronically high stress, and lack of exposure to the natural world. Focus on these foundations and incorporate appropriate therapies and interventions as needed.”

When thinking about mental health, view it as a pairing with these basic foundations. The two cannot thrive without the other. These foundations become even more important during the ages when developmental brain growth is occurring in the first year, age 5 (school initiated; not a biologically based growth stage), and around the ages of 8, 12, and 16. When we ensure that a child’s or youth’s basic needs are being met first, we set them up to benefit from every other kind of intervention or therapy that follows.

Interested in learning more? Click here for caregiver courses approved by the Child Welfare Training System, a program that Kempe supports.